Excerpt from my story: Polar Vortex

Included in my book, BLOOD Collected Stories

“Beneath layers of sky that shifted in shades of off-white to grey to dirty grey with every gust of bone-chilling wind, Serene Goh, was not feeling at all serene. She stood on the doorstep of this house, all but astonished by the bitter cold. She stamped first one fat-booted foot and then the other, to keep her wet toes from freezing in socks that were not only too short but also too thin; socks for fleet-footed running in tropical weather. There was just too much space for seeping cold air. She gasped as frigid air blasted her bare ankles, shooting clear up through the gaps between her jeans and her legs, as if in a wind tunnel where the boots ended, midway blow her calves. Serene pulled off one mitten with her teeth, biting her finger by accident. She couldn’t keep them from chattering. Then she reached underneath the hem of her jacket to fish the piece of paper out from her jeans pocket to see if she had the right address.

It was pointless. She knew she had the right address. Her father had given it to her before she left Singapore. She looked up at bits of sky pinned tight with a soft grey sheet of cloud and felt that if she stretched out her hand, she might just be able to touch it. The buzz of momentary delight at the thought floated away like a snowflake out of the sky.

The Cooper house stood on the corner of a wide street off a broad winding main road, thick rows of black woods, stark leafless trees on either side of it. As another gust of cold blew upon her causing her ears to shut for a good few seconds, she blew on her hands to warm them. She then reached to press the doorbell, only to have her fingers snapped by a sharp and shocking thwack of static electricity. She cradled her injured hand in the other one, surprised that she could be so hurt by frozen dry air. Still there was no response from within.”